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The Thing You Love Most
The Thing You Love Most Episode Number: Season 1, Episode 2 Directed By: Greg Beeman Air Date: October 30, 2011 Previous Episode: Pilot Next Episode Snow Falls "The Thing You Love Most" is the second episode of the first season of the American fairytale/drama television series Once Upon a Time. The series takes place in the fictional seaside town of Storybrooke, Maine, in which the residents are actually characters from various fairy tales that were transported to the "real world" town by a powerful curse. This episode centers on Regina's efforts to run Emma Swan out of Storybrooke and reveals how The Evil Queen unleashed her curse upon the Enchanted Forest. The episode was co-written by co-creators Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis, while Greg Beeman directed. Actress Kristin Bauer van Straten was cast at the last minute and guest starred as the sorceress Maleficent, a character from Disney's 1959 animated film Sleeping Beauty. Mary Margaret's loft as well as most of the interior shots of the episode were filmed in Vancouver, while many exterior shots were shot in nearby Steveston, British Columbia. "The Thing You Love Most" first aired in the United States on ABC on October 30, 2011. It was watched by an estimated 11.64 million viewers, scoring a 3.9 ratings share in the 18-49 demographic. The episode received mixed to positive reviews from television critics; many were complimentary towards Emma and Regina's feud and thought the episode was superior to the Pilot, but believed Bauer van Straten was underused. A novelization of the episode was published in 2013. Plot 'Opening Sequence' Maleficent's unicorn is shown galloping through the forest. 'Event Chronology' The Enchanted Forest flashback of The Evil Queen teleporting herself home occurs immediately following the wedding ceremony seen in the "Pilot", and before Snow White and Prince Charming go on their honeymoon in "The New Neverland". The Queen's visit to Maleficent takes place on Snow White's wedding night, before Snow White and Prince Charming return from their honeymoon in "The New Neverland". The Queen's failed attempt to cast the Dark Curse occurs before or around the same time as Snow White and Prince Charming's conversation with Rumplestiltskin in the "Pilot". Regina's conversation with Rumplestiltskin, and the killing of her father, takes place after Snow White and Charming talked to Rumplestiltskin. Regina's successful attempt to cast the curse occurs after she gives her farewell to her mother in "Queen of Hearts", immediately before "Save Henry", and before/during Snow White's labor and birth of Emma, events seen in the "Pilot" and "The Stranger". The Storybrooke events of this episode occur immediately after the events of the "Pilot", and before "Snow Falls". 'In the Character's Past' At the wedding of Snow White and Prince Charming, The Evil Queen announces her plan to cast a terrible curse on everyone. She goes to see the sorceress Maleficent, to whom she had traded a Dark Curse. Maleficent refuses to return the curse, but the Queen defeats her in a magical battle, taking the curse's scroll. She lets Maleficent live, stating that the sorceress is the only friend she has. Later in the forest, the Queen assembles a number of dark creatures. She demands a lock of hair from each of the assembly in order to cast the curse and sacrifices the heart of her prized stallion to complete the spell. The curse, however, fails. To find out why the curse failed, the Queen turns to Rumpelstiltskin, the original owner of the curse. Rumpelstiltskin offers to help the Queen if, in turn, she makes him a wealthy and respected person in the new world and promises that she will do anything he asks so long as he says "please." The Queen agrees, reminding him that in the new world, they would have no recollection of their agreement. Rumpelstiltskin then tells the Queen that she must cut out the heart of the thing she loves the most and use it to complete the spell. The Queen protests that what she loved most died because of Snow White, but Rumpelstiltskin suggests that there is something else the Queen also loves. He also tells the Queen that he has informed Snow White and Prince Charming that their unborn daughter will be able to break the Queen's curse. On returning to her castle, the Queen is distraught over what Rumpelstiltskin told her. She confides in her valet, Prince Henry, who is revealed to be her father. Knowing he is the thing the Queen loves the most, her father tries to dissuade her from her plan, saying that she could still find love again. Appearing to be persuaded, the Queen pulls her father in for an embrace, then stabs him. Alone in the forest, the Queen uses her father's heart to complete the Dark Curse. As the curse takes shape, she lays a black rose on her father's grave. The headstone bears the inscription "Henry, Beloved Father." 'Storybrooke' Regina looks through the book of fairy tales and discovers that the last few pages are torn out. She confronts Henry, who lies and says that the pages are missing because it is an old book. Believing that Emma Swan will try to take Henry away from her, Regina encourages Emma to leave town. Regina meets with The Daily Mirror editor, Sidney Glass, who has run a front-page story about Emma's auto accident which portrays Emma in a poor light, but tells Regina that he has found very little of interest in Emma's past. Henry tells Emma that he has a plan for them to break the curse, called "Operation Cobra". The first step is to associate his book's characters with each of the Storybrooke residents, as no one can remember their past. Henry explains to a skeptical Emma that she is the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming. Concerned about Henry, Emma goes to see his therapist, Archie Hopper. She is willingly given Henry's file, only to be arrested when Archie claims she stole it. Regina unsuccessfully tries to use the incident to divide Emma and Henry. Emma retaliates by attacking Regina's apple tree with a chainsaw, provoking another confrontation. Back at the inn, Granny apologetically kicks Emma out, telling her they have a no-felons policy. Regina suggests to Emma that they meet at her office to make peace. Once there, Emma tells Regina that she does not plan to take Henry away, but that she is worried about Henry's sanity because of his "crazy" fairy-tale theory. Henry overhears Emma and runs away, hurt. Regina acknowledges that she knew Henry would arrive just in time to hear their conversation. Emma later tells Henry that she thinks the curse is crazy, but that does not mean it is not true. She also tells him that in order to break the curse, they must keep Regina off their trail by making her think that they don't believe in the curse. As Regina tends the apple tree, Mr. Gold offers to help Regina get rid of Emma, for a price. Regina says that she is not in the business of making deals with him anymore, and Gold acknowledges that she had made a deal with him in the past to procure Henry. He asks Regina how she chose the name Henry; she does not answer. She questions him about Emma's past, and he is equally evasive. As Gold walks away, Regina gives him a meaningful stare, suggesting that she suspects that Gold remembers their lives in the Enchanted Forest. Cast Starring *Ginnifer Goodwin as Snow White/Mary Margaret Blanchard *Jennifer Morrison as Emma Swan *Lana Parrilla as The Evil Queen/Regina Mills *Josh Dallas as Prince Charming/David Nolan/Prince James *Eion Bailey as Pinocchio/August Booth *Jared S. Gilmore as Henry Mills *Raphael Sbarge as Jiminy Cricket/Archie Hopper *Jamie Dornan as The Huntsman/Sheriff Graham *Robert Carlyle as Rumplestiltskin/Mr. Gold Guest Starring *Kristin Bauer van Straten as Maleficent *Beverley Elliot as Granny *Meghan Ory as Red Riding Hood/Ruby *Giancarlo Esposito as The Genie/Magic Mirror/Sidney Glass *Lee Arenberg as Grumpy/Leroy *Tony Perez as Prince Henry *Gabe Khouth as Sneezy/Tom Clark *Faustino Di Bauda as Sleepy/Walter *David Paul Grove as Doc *Michael Coleman as Happy *Mig Macario as Bashful *Jeffrey Kasier as Dopey Trivia Production Notes= *The title card features a running unicorn. *The establishing shot of the Forbidden Fortress is reused as stock footage in "Darkness on the Edge of Town", but with a different color hue, and without The Evil Queen's carriage. *When The Evil Queen meets with Maleficent, the "Sleeping Beauty" she mentions is Aurora's mother. *At the Evil Queen's first attempt to cast the Dark Curse, three of her assembled allies, a man in a red, horned mask, a bearded man with a large ax, and a woman with a horned headpiece, are uncredited for the episode and have yet to be further focused upon. *The Storybrooke Daily Mirror shares its name with a well-known British tabloid. *An establishing shot of Storybrooke and Granny's Diner was later reused in "Save Henry". It is also used for Underbrooke in "Ruby Slippers", but with a different color hue. In the latter, Storybrooke's clock tower has been digitally replaced by the Underbrooke Library's broken version. *This episode reveals that the name of the Evil Queen's father, her Valet, is named Henry, after whom she would name her son. *In an early concept art sketch by show production designer Michael Joy, the Valet's gravestone marks his name as Harry, not Henry. *This is the first episode in which Prince Charming appears, but his counterpart, David, does not. |-|Goofs= *In an exterior shot of Storybrooke, the computer-generated clock tower is situated at least two streets behind Sara's Old Fashioned Ice Cream, a business located next to Mr. Gold's pawnshop. However, other episodes clearly show that the pawnshop and Sara's Old-fashioned Ice Cream are both located in the same street as the clock tower building, with the clock tower building on the opposite side of the road. *The article on the front page of the Storybrooke Daily Mirror is just the same block of text repeated three times. *In "Pilot", Emma has a mole on her chest. In this episode, it is gone. (In real life, Jennifer Morrison has had many moles removed from her body. The scar from this particular surgery, can be seen in a few episodes, including "Snow Drifts".) *Regina claims to Emma that her apples are from a Honeycrisp tree. However, the apples in the basket, on the tree, and everywhere else that apples are used in this episode are Red Delicious, which have a totally different shape and color from Honeycrisp apples. Honeycrisp apples were not commercially available until 1991, and must be specifically bred. *When Emma is walking Henry to school, at the beginning of their conversation about the curse, they are walking down the street away from Storybrooke Country Bread and Storybrooke Hardware and Paint, they are visible in the background. However, as they walk they pass the sign for Storybrooke Hardware and Paint twice. At the end of the conversation, when Henry gives Emma the pages from the storybook, they are in front of Storybrooke Country Bread. Also during this scene, when Emma pauses and stops walking, the clock tower is reflected in the window, but without the actual clock tower. (The clock and the uppermost part of the tower are CGI; they are not part of the actual building in Steveston Village). *During Regina's conversation with Emma in her office, she states that today is a Thursday. This is later proven incorrect. According to "The Stranger" and "Selfless, Brave, and True", August woke up in pain in Phuket on October 24, 2011 at 8:15 A.M. the exact minute that Emma decided to stay in Storybrooke at 8:15 P.M. on October 23 (since Thailand is 12 hours ahead of Maine's timezone). This episode takes place the next day, but October 24, 2011 was a Monday. *When Emma is drinking hot cocoa with Mary Margaret, she has a flower tattoo on her wrist. When she opens the door for Granny earlier in the episode, it can barely be seen.